The source of true knowledge

Well the moon has visited the Pushya or Poosam constellation known as Delta Cancri in English today.It also happens to be a Thursday .This combination and occurrence is considered auspicious.This is also the right time to appease the Lord of all knowledge Dakshinamoorthy.He is an aspect of Lord Shiva ,a personification of knowledge.He is dispeller of ignorance and bestower of wisdom.He sits facing the south under the banyan tree with a jnana mudra.It was a pleasure to watch the abhishegam and archanai after understanding the nuances of his being.Salutations to this divine exponent.

The fount of true knowledge



         After the pooja we had konda kadalai and panchamritham as prasad.   

A guest Blog with Suchitra Venkatesh

Suchitra Venkatesh who is an accomplished culinarian,has an exhaustive collection of recipes at her blog.She loves crafts and is big on DIY projects.She is also very passionate about visiting temples and has a wealth of information about temples.She has written a small note about 108 Divyadesams.She has already visited 60 Divyadesams .It is interesting to note that of the total 108 Divyadesams two of them do not belong to the realm of the earth.They are called Thirup paaRkadal and Paramapadham.  Read on 



Image courtesy:Srivaishnavam.com

Lord Vishnu is considered to be supreme by the Sri Vaishnavas. Alwars who are believed to be the amsams of Lord Narayana dedicated their lives towards the Lord. There are in all 12 azhwars of which one is a woman Sri Andal. 11 of these 12 Alwars have sung verses praising the Lord in 108 temples.

The collection of all these verses sung by the azhwars is called Naal ayiram divya prabantham wherein naal ayiram means 4000 verses. The temples are collectively known as Divyadesams. Of these one temple is in Nepal, 105 in India and the other two in the celestial world. Most of the temples are in Tamilnadu and the temples are classified as

Chozha naatu divyadesam - 40 temples

Pandiya naatu divyadesam - 18 temples

Tondai naatu divyadesam - 22 temples

Malai naatu divyadesam -13 temples

Vadu naatu divyadesam -11 temples

Nadu naatu divyadesam - 2 temples

Vinnulagam - 2 temples   

 

Thank you Suchitra for this informative note.The benefit of visiting all the Divyadesams is Moksha.I think all Jivatams finally seek the lords feet. 

Ganesh for prosperity and wealth

Today is a friday and as usual my dad was busy with his customary pooja.Below is a pic of Sri Dwi-Mukha Ganapati(ganesh with 2 heads) and also the ganesh yantra for wealth . May the two-headed Lord Ganapati, holding tusk, rope, hook and jewel-pot in His hands, dark-complexioned, adorning red clothing, red crown and a garland be the harbinger of my prosperity.

10 Dec 2008 Pradosham (Triodashi starts on Wed 10dec 4.40 am and ends 11 Dec 3.45 am)

Pradhosha pooja is one of the most important among the poojas performed to the Graceful Lord Shiva. "In Shukla Paksha (15 moon days from New moon to Full moon) and Krishna Paksha (15 moon days from Full moon to New moon) the evening of the trayodasi (thirteenth moon day) between 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. is called Pradhosha. It comes once in fifteen moon days. Pradhosha time is especially meant for appeasing Lord Shiva. Praying in that time will free us from our sins and grant us salvation(hence the name Pradhosha). During pradosham a special type of circumambulation called soma sutra pradashinam is done."

I have decided to go to a shiva temple this evening. The speciality of this Pradosham is that its falling in the month of Iypasi.The triodasi period is from dawn to the next day dawn called Uthama Pradhosham.This (triodasi time period) is according to the site http://www.pradosham.com/ .The current moon phase is waxing gibbous and is 92% full. In tamil its called Valar Pirai. For more moon phases visit http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon/. This Pradosham is falling on a Wednesday hence worship benefits incude good children ,knowledge and education.During Prodhosha time anointing (Abhishekam) the Shiva deity with the following is considered fruitful.
Milk gives long life
Ghee gives Moksha state
Curd gives good children
Honey gives melodious voice
Rice powder frees from debts
Sugar cane juice gives good health
Panjamrutham gives wealth
Lemon removes fear of death
Sugar removes enmity
Tender coconut gives enjoyment
Cooked Rice(Annam) gives majestic life
Sandal gives Lakshmi's grace

This picture is courtesy Poompuhar, the government authorised handicraft shop.Do visit the site http://tamilnaduhandicrafts.com/ for further details. You can buy the pradosha lamp from there. Will give you the details of the shiva temple that iam going to visit today in the next post.

Photos In my Pooja Room

Left to rt
1VadivudaiAmman tiruvotriyur
2)Siruvapuri Murugan
3)Putlur Amman
4)Arupa Lakshmi
5)Seshadhri Swamigal
6) Anjaneyar
7)Koothanur Saraswathi
8)Thirumeeyachur Laithambigai
9)Chidambara Natarajar center